What is a house? Ever since little Ryne started understanding things, he thought a house was anything with 4 walls and a ceiling.
He believed it to be a place of dwelling essential for humans and their families. He believed it could be big or small, plain or adorned, and of various styles, shapes, and sizes but his understanding of houses and especially a 'home', changed drastically when Danulo led him to the base of the Zaputa tribe.
Daney quietly tagged along with him, unusually silent after being punished. Ryne kept looking at him, trying to gauge anything that would cue him to the reason for the little demon's vulnerable and numb behavior that day but, Daney kept his sight glued to the ground as he continued walking.
As he was about to pinch his shoulder to elicit a response, he saw something in front of him that twisted his perception of the human world and society.
Rows upon rows of thick wooden sticks were planted into the ground, tied together by strong vines to act as the boundary of the village. It excluded the grandeur of a primitive tribe at its peak but it wasn't what shocked Ryne to his core.
A sturdy wooden gate was open and beyond it, he could see a wide-open space where women wearing animal skins, instead of the silk and linen he usually saw them in, doing a variety of chores together.
Some were stitching clothes, some were moving while carrying chopped up wooden blocks, some were preparing food, some huddled close together, discussing something in whispers, and one of them even shouting something at a group of children, while twisting the ears of a little boy, seemingly teaching them something.
There was also a group of old men at the borders of the open clearing - laughing, chatting, and chopping more trees, increasing the size of the clearing.
This was all he saw as swept his gaze all over the open space and the people residing there. He was struck dumb, it was supposed to be the base, the home ground of the supposedly 'fierce' and 'historic' Zaputa tribe, but there were no houses.
Danulo seemed to be preparing for something, as he also let himself be lost in his thoughts without moving a single inch.
When Daney saw that both his father and the little kid who brought much trouble to him remain standing still for no good reason, he immediately stopped walking as well and hesitatingly looked back and forth towards his uncle and 'the new kid'.
He peeked nervously at his gigantic father and wondered in his mind, 'How is this kid not a traitor? Where else could he come from? Pa has grown too attached to him for no reason. It has only been three days and he's only eating fruits that I picked and meat of the wild beasts my father hunted. Ever since Pa visited the village alone yesterday, he has been so nervous. I don't know what happened. Ahh, this guy, he's too dumb and useless, he's just standing there like a lifeless log. If he looks at me one more time, I will punch—no I'll twist his arm before Pa starts beating me.'
The childish brain of the little demon ruthlessly kept thinking of new ways to bully Ryne, who seemed to be a useless parasite to him with an additional probability of him being a traitor sent by the other two divisions of the Rohanic tribes.
Danulo suddenly took a deep breath and clenched his fists tight as he resolved himself to convince the Tribal Chief of adopting little Ryne as his child.
As an experienced hunter, he could even read the emotions of senseless wild beasts, much less of an anxious little Ryne who was being honest and afraid of him. Ryne's wit and mannerism reminded him of the few elite cubs he had met in the Ro-han city during his dealings there.
He resolved to help the meek and scared kid find a new home until he was qualified enough to leave the 'Forest of Calamity' on his own so that the kid remains loyal to the tribe.
There was no better alternative than the Tribal Chief of the Zaputa tribe, Hans. Taking up the mettle and responsibility of a tribe of fearless and brute warriors from the young age of 28, Hans' life was devoid of any instances of romantic love or vulnerable sentiments.
Danulo, ever since his teenage years up until 20 years later at this time, remained a loyal and adherent admirer of the Chief, who devoted his life to the betterment of his tribe and his people.
Hans though didn't share Danulo's enthusiasm and thought more rationally of the whole matter. As he conquered his final burst of irresolution and was about to move, he saw Ryne staring at the empty clearing, utterly struck dumb.
"What happened Ryne?" Danulo looked at the child whose height was a little shorter than his legs and asked in a clear and kind tone.
"House? Where are the houses, Uncle?" Ryne woke up from his dreamland and replied with a question of his own.
"We're wanderers, little Ryne, every family carries a reusable canvas talisman together with them. Using it, we can pitch our tents up at night when the hunters and gatherers return after their work. We have no houses because the dangers present in the jungle keep forcing us to constantly move. We don't fret it though as we have a very large home haha." Danulo gestured towards a heap of dark-brown leathery tents lying here and there across the open clearing.
Seeing that Ryne still appeared dazed, he elaborated further,
"You know about talismans and magical equipment right?"
Ryne nodded his head doubtfully, "Talismans are made from the blood of strong magic beasts carved carefully on a special paper. They have various uses ranging from convenience to combat but aren't they a single-use item?"
Danulo revealed a satisfied smile, "You're right little Ryne, but there are some Talisman Masters who can carve re-usable talismans using some rarer and more expensive materials and using the skins of Peak grade-3 and stronger magic beasts. We have one such Talisman master within our village. Although it's quite costly, we need such talismans for everyone, simply because it's necessary for survival."
From his words, Ryne grasped the concept of a community for the first time and revised his concept of a magical society and people as he nodded lightly towards Danulo and started walking towards the main village entrance again.
Daney silently gritted his teeth and followed suit.